Skeptoid
Skeptoid is a weekly podcast that critically examines urban legends, paranormal claims, conspiracy theories, alternative medicine, and other popular myths. Host Brian Dunning applies scientific skepticism to uncover the truth behind these stories. The show has been running since 2006 and covers a wide range of topics from historical mysteries to UFO reports.
Episodes
Skeptoid #1054: Let Yourself Get Scammed
It turns out that having zero fraud in society is not necessarily a goal that would serve the general good. Why not?
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Skeptoid #1053: Recovered Memory Therapy
Some say you might have repressed memories that you know nothing about — but that might be discovered and recovered therapeutically. Is this a real thing?
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Skeptoid #1052: Is CERN Altering Reality?
What's really behind CERN's Large Hadron Collider's third planned shutdown?
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Skeptoid #1051: The Humble Pie Report
Once again, we issue your corrections to errors made in previous Skeptoid episodes.
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Skeptoid #1050: Does Torture Work?
The question of whether torture is ever justified must take a back seat to the more important question: Is it effective at producing useful intelligence?
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Skeptoid #1049: The Many Worlds of Reality Shifting
Is this new technique to move your consciousness into another world anything more than just vivid imagination? Maybe.
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Skeptoid #1048: Are Seed Oils Poisoning Our Food Supply?
Seed oils seem to be the newest food villain. Are they something you truly need to avoid?
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Skeptoid #1047: The Pirates of Cozumel
Popular tales claim that pirates used the island of Cozumel as a base of operations. History tells us pretty much the exact opposite.
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Feed Drop! Tales From Aztlantis and "Remembering the Maya Apocalypse"
As a thoughtful primer for our Skeptoid Adventure through the Maya World of the Yucatán coast this December, we're dropping an episode from our good friends at the Tales From Aztlantis podcast that's all about the so-called "Mayan Calender" that was the source of so much hype -- and some real harm -- leading up to December 2012.FUN FACT: Tales From Aztlantis co-host and Indigenous Chicano
Skeptoid #1046: The Case of the Impossible Satellites
Are alien spacecraft truly the best explanation for "transient" dots found on old telescope photographs?
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Skeptoid Adventures Early Bird Special
The early bird special ends this Monday for BOTH Skeptoid Adventures launching this December!
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Skeptoid #1045: Balanced Literacy and the Reading Wars
What was the real cause of the drop in English-speaking literacy rates between 1980 and 2020?
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Skeptoid #1044: Red Light Therapy
Usually, wellness therapies that claim to treat everything actually treat nothing.
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Skeptoid #1043: The Men Who Walk Through Walls
The real story behind the CIA spending $20 million on PROJECT STARGATE to study psychics.
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Encore! "Finding the Black Olmec"
Our final Skeptoid Adventure of 2026 takes us to the Yucatán coast to explore the Mysteries of the Maya. So, in anticipation of that, we're playing an episode from the archive that takes us to the heart of Mesoamerica: "Finding the Black Olmec" -- Enjoy!And this Adventure takes place December 6th-13th and links up seamlessly with the New Orleans Escapade for those who are interested!www.s
Skeptoid #1042: On the Trail of the Rougarou
From 17th century France to Nova Scotia and all the way to the bayous of Louisiana, one particular cryptid has had a far longer run than most. The rougarou is said to be the werewolf of the swamps, stepping out of Cajun folklore and into your nightmares. Where can we find the rougarou, and what role will it fill for centuries to come?
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Encore! "The Voodoo Ax Murders"
In preparation for our Skeptoid Adventure to New Orleans, we’re playing an encore edition of an episode that takes us to the heart of the Big Easy and dives into Louisiana Voodoo. We’ll see how Louisiana Voodoo stacks up against the Hollywood version as we explore the mysterious case of what came to be known as "The Voodoo Ax Murders."
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Skeptoid #1041: Full Moon Myths
A round-up of plausible-sounding myths about the Moon, most of which you've probably heard, and some of which you might believe.
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Skeptoid #1040: Food Dyes
Some say artificial food dyes are killing us. The truth is a lot more nuanced.
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Skeptoid #1039: Chemtrails: Still Haven't Blown Away
The more years go by, the more Americans believe that ordinary airliners are secretly spraying chemicals for some hidden nefarious purpose.
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Skeptoid #1038: Project Anchor: Anatomy of a Hoax
This Internet legend claims the Earth's gravity will shut off for seven seconds in 2026.
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Skeptoid #1037: A Skeptic's Guide to Sleepmaxxing
This social media fad promises to supercharge your sleep and make you healthier than healthy, when in fact it probably does significantly more harm than good.
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New Skeptoid Movie: Alien Echoes
Skeptoid is now going into production on our third feature film: Alien Echoes. Get all the details at skeptoid.org/alienechoes
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Skeptoid #1036: The Myth of the Alpha Wolf
It turns out there's probably no such thing as an alpha wolf.
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Skeptoid #1035: How Disastrous Are Declining Birth Rates?
Popular influencers claim birth rates are declining disastrously. How true is that, and is it a disaster?
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Skeptoid #1034: The Colorado Martian
The discovery of a Martian sarcophagus in Colorado in 1864: An oddball story, or consistent with the lore of the day?
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Skeptoid #1033: Skeptifying BBC's Uncanny
Supplying some much-needed skepticism to an episode of the BBC podcast Uncanny.
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Skeptoid #1032: Is Germ Theory a Myth?
Even today, some people cling to a pre-scientific belief that germs do not cause disease.
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Sailing the Skeptical Seas! New Orleans Escapade! Mysteries of the Maya Cruise!
Time is running out to grab one of the few remaining cabins for Málaga, Spain to Nice, France on the SV Royal Clipper AND announcing our next adventure to New Orleans followed by the Mysteries of the Maya cruise to the Yucatán Peninsula!
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Skeptoid #1031: Unearthing Ancient Advanced Civilizations
An exploration of the validity of the Silurian hypothesis, which posits the existence of a pre-human intelligent race on Earth.
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Gentle Reminder: Daylight Saving Time Starts Tomorrow
As a gentle reminder that you will have an hour of sleep robbed from you tonight, enjoy this episode on Daylight Saving Time Myths from the archives!
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Skeptoid #1030: Testing the Rossi E-Cat
This secretive device has been promising to deliver clean, free energy for more than 15 years — but so far nobody's been allowed to examine it.
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Skeptoid #1029: How to Become a Sovereign Citizen
Is there somewhere on Earth where Sovereign Citizens can actually be free of any nation's laws?
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Skeptoid #1028: Manipulative Advertising
Advertising wants your attention, not your soul; and it’s not nearly as good at getting either as you might think.
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Skeptoid #1027: Radioactive Relics: The Missing RTGs
Radioactive nuclear generators sit out in the environment, posing a real hazard. They're mostly — but not all — in Russia.
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Mic'd Up: Brian's Blood Donation Interview
Brian gets questioned while giving blood.
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Skeptoid #1026: Vintage Ceramics: Decorative or Deadly?
How concerned do you truly need to be about vintage ceramicware leaching lead into your food?
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Skeptoid #1025: Pop Quiz: Space Quandaries
Oh no! Another pop quiz. Take the challenge: 9 questions about space. Think you can get them all?
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Skeptoid #1024: The Van Meter Visitors
A century-old hoax takes wing again, proof that good stories never stay buried.
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Skeptoid #1023: What Accounts for Ghost Encounters?
If ghosts don't exist, then how do we account for all the ghost experiences that people have every day?
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Dr. Flint Dibble Interview: Our Resident Expert for Málaga to Nice!
Mediterranean archaeologist Dr. Flint Dibble will be our resident expert on the real history (and the fake history) at our ports of call when Skeptoid Adventures sails from Málaga, Spain to Nice, France this April. He is perhaps best known for his 2024 destruction of pseudo-archaeologist Graham Hancock on the Joe Rogan Experience.
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Skeptoid #1022: Blood Donation Myths
The myths and misconceptions surrounding blood donation and why you might consider donating.Links to resources from Bloodworks Northwest:Blood Donation Need to KnowEligibility GuidelinesEligibility Checker
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Skeptoid #1021: The First Middle Finger
The history and pseudohistory of this infamous and ubiquitous obscene gesture.
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Skeptoid #1020: Yule Logs
From fireplace to folklore, how the Yule log got its fake pagan backstory.
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Skeptoid #1019: Testing the Thunderstorm Generator
This device claims to be able to dramatically improve the efficiency and emissions of any internal combustion engine.
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Skeptoid #1018: Might Ghosts Exist?
An exploration of all the scientific possibilities by which ghosts might actually exist in this universe.
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Skeptoid #1017: The Bell that Tolls for the K-129
It should have been impossible for the CIA's Glomar Explorer to obtain the ship's bell from the K-129 submarine... but they did. How?
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Skeptoid #1016: The Case for Carbon Dating
A roundup of evidence supporting the use of radiocarbon dating to assess the age of organic matter from 500 to 55,000 years old.
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Skeptoid #1015: The Alaska Triangle
Stories claim that this region of Alaska is home to a huge number of unexplained disappearances.
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Skeptoid #1014: The Giant of Kandahar
Did US Special Forces battle a 15-foot-tall red-haired giant in the mountains of Afghanistan in 2002?
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Skeptoid #1013: Medbeds: Sleeping in Bunk
A conspiracy theory claims the Hollywood and Deep State elitists have a magical bed that allows them to remain forever young and healthy.
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Skeptoid #1012: The Rake That Comes for You in the Night
Is the Rake mere creepypasta, or do more recent events prove it to be a real creature?
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Skeptoid #1011: The Not-Deer and Weird Appalachian Lore
When ordinary deer turn grotesque, Appalachia’s forests whisper of the Not-Deer — unnatural predators lurking somewhere between folklore and nightmare.
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Skeptoid #1010: Pop Quiz: 19 Years of Skeptoid
A pop quiz of trivia from the previous 19 years of Skeptoid shows! Can you beat the masters?
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Skeptoid #1009: Facts and Fiction of Polynesian Navigation, Part 2
The actual wayfinding methods used by the ancient Polynesians to navigate between islands and settle the entire Pacific Ocean.
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Skeptoid Adventures Sets Sail! Malaga, Spain to Nice, France 2026
Skeptoid Adventures will set sail on the world's largest sailing vessel, the SV Royal Clipper, from Malaga, Spain, to Nice, France this April. We'll have a mini-conference aboard and we'll stop at amazing ports of call -- all while on the coolest full-rigged sailing ship you've ever seen. Take a look at skeptoid.com/adventures. Please note: This ship often sells out by the end of October,
Skeptoid #1008: Facts and Fiction of Polynesian Navigation, Part 1
Nearly as much mythology as science surrounds the wayfinding techniques used by early Polynesians to navigate the South Pacific.
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Skeptoid #1007: The Pilots Who Landed at Area 51
True stories of the pilots who have tried to land at Area 51 — and what happened to them.
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Skeptoid #1006: Deconstructing Structured Water
We all enjoy a nice crisp glass of water when we're feeling dehydrated — which makes sense, because our bodies need it most of all, so enjoying it is an evolved behavior. However, some people — notably wellness influencers — have determined that good old H2O is actually not a good thing at all (who knew?); and that what you really need is their own concoction that's actually an entirely d
Skeptoid #1005: Debugging Done Diligently
Another round of corrections of errors from past episodes, keeping your Skeptoid archive tidy and accurate.
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Skeptoid #1004: Dating the White Sands Footprints
Ancient footprints in New Mexico are forcing scientists to rewrite the story of when humans first set foot in the Americas, and the debate is shaking paleoanthropology to its core.
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Skeptoid #1003: History's Weirdest Science Findings
Fourteen of the most unexpected and counterintuitive science findings.
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Skeptoid #1002: A Feast of Feedback
Once again we go through some of your feedback to past episodes — all the good stuff that enhances and improves the presentation.
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Skeptoid #1001: The Phantom Clown Panic
Clowns have a habit of terrifying many of us. So why shouldn't we be surprised to see mass clown panics?
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Skeptoid #1000: Candle on the Water
Today marks the 1000th Skeptoid episode. And it's time to raise the question: What are you going to do for it?
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Skeptoid #999: Day of the Medieval Dead
Medieval tales of walking corpses reflect common misunderstandings of death and the era's blurred line between myth and reality.
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Skeptoid #998: The Manifestation Trap: OCD and the Law of Attraction
What began as 19th-century mind-cure mysticism has morphed into a billion-dollar culture that may be hurting more minds than it helps.
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Skeptoid #997: Sounds of the Aurora
Using real science to investigate the question of whether some people can "hear" the aurora.
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Skeptoid #996: Murder in Hex Hollow
The 1928 murder of a folk healer ignited a media frenzy and moral panic, revealing how superstition and magical thinking can fuel real-world tragedy.
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Preview — Douglas Adams: The Ends of the Earth on The Internet We Didn’t Get
We’re sharing a preview of a new audiobook, Douglas Adams: The Ends of the Earth, which celebrates the wit and wisdom of the legendary science fiction author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. Douglas Adams was someone who thought deeply about the biggest problems in the world, from the internet, to artificial intelligence, to space explor
Skeptoid #995: The Eugenic History of the Body Type Diet
Is there good science backing up the idea that you should eat based upon which of three body types you have?
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Skeptoid #994: Making AI Environmentally Friendly
Will our improvements to AI's voracious appetite for electricity keep pace with the exploding demand?
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Skeptoid #993: How to Decide What to Eat
Do you really need to pay quite so much attention to which foods you eat, and which you avoid?
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Skeptoid #992: The Case of the Missing Beaumont Children
Since psychic abilities do not exist outside the delusions of true believers, involving psychics in searches for missing persons is worse than useless.
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Skeptoid #991: Real Sea Monsters
A roundup of all the biggest and scariest real sea monsters — from today and from prehistoric times.
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Skeptoid #990: Rethinking Science Education
How one special moment redefined how a science teacher does her job.
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Skeptoid #989: Are $1,000,000 Paranormal Challenges Effective?
Their exciting nature, combined with the fact nobody's ever won one, make paranormal challenge prizes important educational tools.
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Skeptoid #988: Chocolate Myths
Here are many popular myths about chocolate. How many can you tell are true or not?
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Skeptoid #987: More than a Magician's Assistant
She may have gotten her start as Houdini's sidekick, but Rose Mackenberg became a giant of unmasking fraudulent mediums.
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A Brief Shake-Up at Skeptoid
You're going to get to enjoy some new guest hosts for a month or two on Skeptoid.
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